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Bruce Campbell, Peter Ferry, Jolie Jackunas, Robert Kokai, Bogdan Pecic ... see more see more... , Scott Spiegel , Michael Grossi , Pete Ferry

The feature debut of ultra-low-budget horror auteur J.R. Bookwalter, this fast-paced zombie mini-epic is very likely the most expensive movie ever shot on Super-8 film. Playing with the long-establish... read more read more...ed mythos of George A. Romero's Living Dead trilogy, The Dead Next Door was produced with the help of many of the Evil Dead crew: financial backer Sam Raimi is credited as "Master Cylinder" and one of the characters is named after him; Evil Dead co-writer Scott Spiegel plays a role; and some character voices are dubbed by Bruce Campbell. The story centers on the members of the "Zombie Squad" -- an assault team trained in the hunting and extermination of the living dead -- and their mission to track down the scientists who developed a zombie-making virus and find the rumored antidote. Of the many lethal obstacles in their path, the deadliest comes in the form of a religious cult whose leader sees the zombie epidemic as a precursor of Armageddon -- and is hell-bent on expediting it. Very stylish for what is essentially an epic-scale home movie (and gushing with plentiful home-style gore effects), this remains Bookwalter's best effort and contains numerous witty homages to the Romero films which inspired it. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi

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46% liked it

2,762 ratings

Unrated, 1 hr. 24 min.

Directed by: J.R. Bookwalter

Release Date: June 20, 1995

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DVD Release Date: August 9, 2005

Stats: 208 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (208)

  • ajv2688
    March 29, 2012
    ajv2688
    A great zombie movie starring Evil Dead's Bruce Campbell. It's even pretty funny at times, but still it brings the blood and gore you want in a horror movie. I really enjoyed it, and I highly recommend it.
  • ScoopOnline
    December 29, 2009
    ScoopOnline
    Zombie Movies are not exactly one of my pleasure but I like to watch if a good one is running or I get a recommendation.
    Widely regarded as the most expensive 8mm zombie film ever made,
    This is not true, but not a bad one.
  • matertenebraum
    April 20, 2009
    matertenebraum
    If you don't like zombie movies, you'd be best off making sure that you never see The Dead Next Door...but if you do like zombie flicks, this might provide some amusement. While the film is never exceptional (even in the low budget zombie sub-genre), it does have some positive as... read morepects, which pull it out of the truly abysmal. Despite it's more than obvious low budget, it's clear that the producers of this flick wanted to do some things with the genre that haven't been done before. Of course, by 1988; zombie films had pretty much been explored to the max, but fairly original ideas such as the religious cult that want the zombies protected and the thing with half-human, half-zombie give this film some things to call it's own. The plot is a straight Romero-rip off, and it sees the world being plagued by zombies. We follow a team of government agents calling themselves 'Zombie Squad', whose task it is to, basically, kill zombies. Their job is made more difficult by a cult of religious weirdo's, who strangely think that the zombie is worth saving...

    On the technical side, everything about this film is rubbish. The script is ridiculous, and little gems like "I'm a zombie now" show this. The acting matches the script, and once again is a load of rubbish. Someone called Pete Ferry takes the lead role, and does his best impression of Bruce Campbell. He's not the king of B-movies, but his performance does ensure that it's obvious that this movie isn't to be taken seriously. The closing credit of 'you have just witnessed the awesome talents of:' is a nice touch, and shows that the crew were only having a laugh while making this film. The special effects are gory and disgusting, but also very stupid and impossible to take seriously. Still, they beat lazy effects like those of Resident Evil (the movie) hands down. The way that a lot of the characters have been given horror director names, such as Raimi, shows that the makers are fans of this sort of film, and that fact might even be inspiring if this production wasn't so unprofessional. On the whole, there's no denying that this isn't very good; but on the other hand, it's a decent waste of time and there's definitely something here for zombie fans.
  • FilmFanatik
    December 28, 2007
    FilmFanatik
    Cheesey horror and gorey goodness!
  • silentbob66
    January 23, 2009
    silentbob66
    The Dead Next Door is one of those movies i found to be so bad its actually good and the only two reasons i think its bad would be wooden acting and the shot on low budget style i think with alittle more this could have been a top notch movie. A scientist creates a virus that onc... read moree its released turns people into the living dead yes i know same plot as usual the whole town of akron Ohio goes to the undead fast forward a few years later and the government has created a zombie squad to take them out but they also must fine the last of the serum that might save whats left of mankind in there search they must take on a cult leader and his pack of zombies. Very much worth a watch for that hardcore zombie fan has plenty of gore and zombies to keep you interested
  • patrickdol
    May 31, 2007
    patrickdol
    The zombie classic you've never heard of. Shot all on consumer super 8, overdubbed dialogue, not great acting. But AMAZING movie,it won't take much time, less than 80 mins.
  • seanattle74
    November 30, 2009
    seanattle74
    So bad it's good. This is one of those intentionally found b-movies that become a classic among friends. Financed by Sam

    Raimi and filmed in Toledo, Ohio.
  • djroxygen
    March 11, 2009
    djroxygen
    Ok, so J.R. Bookwalter didn't have millions of dollars to make a Zombie movie. He didn't have the directing skills of Peter Jackson (circa his Bad Taste / Braindead era), but you gotta give it to the guy: With a little less than 125.000 dollars, he managed to create a cult-classi... read morec splatter film. It seems that all the budget (?!) went on to create amazing gore scenes, that will sure make the delights of any fan of the genre. It sure made mine!
  • theSwitchbladeSister
    October 29, 2008
    theSwitchbladeSister
    This movie is adorable.

    I'm not saying that to be ironic, either. This movie makes me think of what my zombie movie would be. If I had the funds and the equipment and the friends to help, this would be what I made.

    It stars a man who is clearly doing his best Bruce Campbell... read more voice, aptly named "Raimi", and a whole host of other people that look like they probably all belong to the same community theatre group. It's absolutely adorable.

    The gore is well done, it's fairly funny and all-in-all entertaining. I dig it.
  • saintboondock1
    September 24, 2008
    saintboondock1
    JR bookwalter's 10 grand epic i LOVE his movies sure they are cheap but they are also great moments and it makes you think "hell...i can and WANT to do this..."

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